Survive or Thrive.
Over the years, I have jumped in with both feet to any adventure that involves the Outdoors or Technology. Why? Over the years, I realize my passions come down to these two:
Anything Outdoors
Managing Technology
For both the Outdoors and Technology, I much prefer to ‘thrive’ rather than just ‘survive’. In this article, I share my approach for both my outdoor adventures and managing technology.
1- The Challenge - Let’s face it, whether it is cycling across America, Europe or hiking across Spain, Appalachians or the Himalayas, there is the simple ‘thrill’ of the impossible. It’s being told you can’t when you know you can. Let’s just say, there were days that my feet hurt so bad, or my legs were so tired, I was not sure I had the ability to get up and go another day. But in the end, I kept my eye on the goal, and there was no doubt I could finish.
Similarly, the Technology functions that I have worked, were often neglected or under enormous amount of pressure due to fast growth, industry disruption, M&A or under-funded legacy functions. I have thrived in transforming these environments. ‘Muddle-ing’ is not a sustainable option. The goal is to align to business vision, seek clarity of purpose and lay down a game plan to take the Technology function to the next level.
One step. One pedal. One day at a time.
2- Being Prepared - In outdoors, nature can be fickle. No two days are the same. Unpredictable 4Hs: Headwinds, Hills, Heat and Humidity. How can one ever know what’s ahead? When I lived in England, they always said “there is no such think as poor weather, it only affects those that are poorly prepared”. Many of my best days hiking would be sloshing about in the rain. If truth be told, these days could be far more more pleasant than walking under blue skies. Why? I was prepared.
Technology is no different. It is not what goes right in IT but understanding what can go wrong. Whether you are a 20-person IT function or 1200-person IT function, whether you are in-sourced or out-sourced, the first step is to take an “State of the Nation” IT Assessment. Taking an assessment, like the one we developed, is based on my 20 years experience working for both large and small Technology teams. It is not meant to be a definitive answer of the detail but rather provide a quick ‘heat-map’ to the situation. From there, you can initiate conversations and start a plan to prioritize with the business, team and vendors.
Rain or shine, be prepared.
3- Evolving Execution - On my outdoor adventures, so often things would change. The unexpected would happen (rattle snakes blocking the hiking path, excruciating foot blisters or thunderstorms stopping me dead with 50 miles to go and yes, the dreaded killer 4H’s all at once). Over the years, I have learned to proceed with both patience and perseverance. How? It requires a bit of anticipation and a bit of thinking proactively with options.
With Technology, creating a business and team culture to anticipate, proactively, transparently and confidently manage the unexpected is critical to success. As a CIO, this can be the joy of the job. Without it, it can be exhausting and depressing part of the job. Hopeless fire-fighting. It can be lonely and isolating. If you are caught on the back foot, how can you get ahead? It comes with experience, trust and gaining the confidence of the business and your team. But how? Communicate (the plan). Communicate (the progress). Communicate (the role of IT and team). Communicate (the results). Communicate (daily, weekly, monthly and annually).
Patience, perseverance and strong communication can get you through the most challenging of situations.
4- Leadership and assistance - In my adventures, there were times when things went terribly wrong. What I learned was that if you ask for help, someone will be there. Whether it was a flat tire or my hiking partner fainting 8 miles from civilization in the deep back-country, if I asked, someone was willing to help. It was important though, that I knew what I need to ask for.
Today’s technology landscape is so complex. How can a CIO know it all? For starters, it is not that you need to ‘know-it-all’ but you need a good rolodex of people that can help. You will need help from the board, the business, your team, professional peers and vendors. Invest in those relationships. Have a plan to nurture them. Seek business stakeholders. Seek community (of other CIOs). Find a mentor.
On any adventure, be sure to have a support net in place.
5- The future and change management- As I look ahead, I am always scanning for new adventures that create excitement and challenge. I also realize that some of my past challenges (hiking 30 miles in a day) are not my future challenges. I upgrade my bikes and revise my goals on a quarterly and annual basis with a view of where I want to be in 5 years.
Technology is changing by leaps and bounds. How can a CIO keep up? Setting time aside to understand the impact and value of the newest Technology is an ongoing part of the CIO role. And this is not just for you, start building out your succession plans by embedding the ‘anticipation culture’ into both the business and your teams. Likewise, after taking the “State of the Nation” Assessment, you and your organization should have a clear IT Roadmap that outlines the ‘as is’, outlines ‘option’ and with board approval maps out the ‘to be’.
It is often said that “Without a destination, any road will take you there”. Be careful to know where you are trying to go and plan you route.
6- Reflect - Over the years, I have often reflected on my outdoor adventures. Times that I had the most fun and times where I was in pain and/or took risks that I would not want to take again.
And as a CIO, I have reflected on some very hard lessons in each of the areas above. As a CIO coach, interim and mentor, I thrive on clarity of vision and purpose. If you are interested in learning more of how I may help you and your company in navigating any of the following, feel free to contact me:
Challenge of managing Tech in fast growth, M&A, IPO and/or budget neglect
“State of Tech” Assessment(s) to gain confidence and clarity
Execution evolution with successful Stakeholder communications
Leadership IT Culture and team building
Future/Change Management and rolling IT plans
We specializing in pragmatically helping you navigate the fast past, fast changing ever evolving business/technology landscape with a re-freshing and re-vitalizing way so as to add value, achieve results and gain confidence in managing both the vision and the ‘hear-n-now’.
If you are a company and/or IT leader seeking to take your IT function to the next level, contact me today for a complimentary conversation and take the “State of Tech” Assessment. Or signup to my newsletter as I start to discuss the approach I take to managing the components of IT.
